Drafters’ Story
Drafters Tea Co. is rooted in relationships with agricultural communities and social justice organizers in Northeastern Thailand since 2003. The founder’s introduction to tea began as an educator at a tea house in San Francisco, an experience that later inspired the co-creation of วงน้ำชา (“Circle of Tea”), a cooperatively run tea house and art education center in Khon Kaen, Thailand.
In 2015, Drafters Tea Co. partnered with a fifth-generation tea-growing family in Chiang Rai province, whose tea is grown without pesticides and hand-harvested from centuries-old tea trees. Drafters is honored to share these rare, small-batch teas and the relationships behind them.
About Our Tea
The teas shared by Drafters come from a mountain village in Chiang Rai Province in Northern Thailand. Known for its cool climate, fresh mountain air, and nutrient-rich soil, it has long been recognized as an ideal region for tea cultivation. Tea here grows among forests of ancient Camellia sinensis var. assamica trees, some of which have been aged by researchers at 700–900 years old.
The story of the tea farm traces back to the 1960s, when the family elder with ancestral tea knowledge from the Golden Triangle recognized the value of the region’s ancient tea trees. Using traditional harvesting, drying, and aging methods, the tea was transported by horseback on journeys to share it with surrounding communities. While many farmers shifted to other crops during political and economic upheaval in Thailand, the family remained committed to tea - cultivating it organically and caring for the land as a living heritage.
Our tea is not just a beverage or a business — it is a way of life, a relationship with the forest, and a form of community care that continues to shape the region. We are proud to share Drafters Tea.
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